Sextant. 19th-century illustration of a Ramsden 10-inch (25 centimetres) sextant. Sextants are instruments used to measure the angular position of cel

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Sextant. 19th-century illustration of a Ramsden 10-inch (25 centimetres) sextant. Sextants are instruments used to measure the angular position of celestial bodies relative to the horizon to aid in celestial navigation. This sextant was designed by British instrument maker Jesse Ramsden (1735-1800). This artwork is from 'The Cycle of Celestial Objects continued at the Hartwell Observatory to 1859' (1860) by British astronomer William Henry Smyth (1788-1865).

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Size: 4827px × 4004px
Photo credit: © ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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